UPDATE 5-Colorado fire near Pikes Peak forces 11,000 from homes

DENVER, June 24 A fast-growing wildfire in
Colorado forced 11,000 people from their homes at least briefly
on Sunday and threatened popular summer camping grounds beneath
Pikes Peak, whose vistas helped inspire the patriotic tune
"America the Beautiful."

Live summit video from the 14,115-foot (4,302-metre) peak
showed plumes of dark smoke billowing in the air, and a cog
railway that ferries tourists up the side of the famous mountain
was shut down because of the wildfires.

The blaze in the Pike National Forest, known as the Waldo
Canyon Fire, has consumed about 2,500 acres (1,012 hectares)
since Saturday and triggered evacuation orders for 11,000 people
from Colorado Springs and nearby towns, fire officials said.

"This is a very, very volatile situation," said emergency
worker Rob Deyerberg at the fire joint information center.

The blaze was just one of 20 uncontrolled fires raging in
U.S. states on Sunday, mostly in the West, stoked by wind and
triple digit temperatures in some areas. A fresh blaze in
neighboring Utah forced an estimated 1,500 people from their
homes in that state, officials said.

Of those evacuated in Colorado, about 6,200 people were
cleared from Manitou Springs, which is often used as a base for
travel to Pikes Peak, fire department spokesman Dave Hunting
said. That evacuation order was later lifted on Sunday evening
as winds calmed and stopped driving flames in that direction,
while others remained in place.

Authorities also ordered residents to leave Green Mountain
Falls, Chipita Park and Cascade, according to the fire incident
command. No buildings had been lost to the fire as of Sunday
evening, but the flames could threaten houses if the wind
shifted, Deyerberg said.

El Paso County spokesman Dave Rose said the fire was burning
two miles (3.2 km) from the base of Pikes Peak, billed as the
most visited mountain in North America. Flames were also visible
in a heavily wooded neighborhood of upscale homes just south of
the Garden of the Gods, a park in Colorado Springs that is
popular with rock climbers.

The Waldo Canyon blaze came as firefighting resources were
stretched by the monster High Park blaze west of Fort Collins,
which officials now estimate has destroyed 248 homes since it
was ignited two weeks ago. Another Colorado fire charred 21
homes on Saturday.

The High Park Fire - the second-largest on record in the
state and its most destructive - has so far consumed 83,205
acres (33,672 hectares) in steep canyons. Sparked by lightning,
it is blamed for the death of a 62-year-old grandmother in her
mountain cabin.

"This fire continues to be persistent and find new areas
that it can burn," incident commander Bill Hahnenberg said.

FRESH UTAH EVACUATIONS

In Utah, a fire that erupted Saturday evening destroyed 30
structures and pushed residents from their homes in the rural
communities of Fountain Green and Indianola on Sunday, and
forced a 15-mile (24-km) closure of state highway 89.

Fueled by gusty winds, the Wood Hollow fire has ballooned
rapidly to 30,000 acres (12,140 ha) since it started in the
foothills near Fountain Green, about 100 miles (161 km) south of
Salt Lake City, Interagency Fire Center spokesman Don Carpenter
said.

An exact cause of the fire was under investigation, although
Carpenter said it was caused by somebody. Evacuations were
ordered in three small towns and some rural subdivisions.

Sanpete County Sheriff's Deputy Eric Zeeman said around
1,500 people had been evacuated, adding that it was hard to give
an exact number because the fire had spread rapidly and the area
included permanent residences and part-time dwellings. Officials
earlier estimated 2,500 people had been evacuated.

The fire has burned up over a mountain ridge through grass,
sage, pinion juniper and alpine firs, and by midday was burning
down north-facing slopes into a small valley, Carpenter said. At
least one structure was destroyed.

"Everything is so dry and the temperatures are so high, it
doesn't take much to have it go," he said, adding that about 64
firefighters were fighting the fire, with additional crews on
the way. A PV-2 air tanker was providing air support.

Further north, crews were still battling the Dump fire, 35
miles (56 km) south of Salt Lake City. It was 40 percent
contained on Sunday, U.S. Forest Service fire information
officer Kim Osborn said.

The 6,023-acre (2,437-ha) fire was started Thursday by
target shooters and had earlier forced the evacuation of nearly
600 homes. Evacuation orders there were lifted on Saturday after
keeping residents away about 30 hours.

On Sunday, Osborn said the fire was burning on a ridge a
good distance from any structures, but fire managers were
closely watching for shifting afternoon winds.
(Additional reporting by Jennifer Dobner in Salt Lake City and
David Bailey in Minneapolis; Writing by Cynthia Johnston;
Editing by Eric Walsh and Paul Simao)

Next In Cyclical Consumer Goods

LJUBLJANA, Dec 9 Slovenia's state-owned
privatisation coordinator said on Friday it had not received any
expressions of interest from investors in the sale of ladies'
tights maker Polzela, which it put on the block in October.

Dec 9 Peet's Coffee & Tea, a longtime rival to
Starbucks Corp, said on Friday it will invest $58
million to open a new coffee roasting facility in Suffolk,
Virginia, to support its expanding business in an increasingly
competitive environment.

Reuters is the news and media division of Thomson Reuters. Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Learn more about Thomson Reuters products: